This disclosure relates to providing query refinements to users.
Large volumes of information can be accessed over the internet, and search engines are typically utilized to identify particular information, such as web pages, media files, etc. For example, a search engine can index the words included within each of the web pages and utilize such indexes to determine how relevant a page is to a received search query.
Some search engines can provide suggestions for a user entering a search query. For example, Google Suggest, available from Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., provides search suggestions to a user as the user is typing the search query. The suggestions are formed based on a tree that narrows as limitations are added to the query. The suggestions, for example, can be listed based upon the popularity of the search queries associated with the refinements in the refinement list. Thus, for example, search queries that are the most popular and match the partial query are more likely to be listed near the top of a refinement list, while the least popular queries that match a partial query are more likely to be listed near the bottom of a refinement list. Similarly, some search engines can provide suggestions, for example, in instances where a submitted search query is very broad, or where it is probable that a mistake (e.g., typo) was made in entering the search query.